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Mobile Broadband Penetration Exceeds 95 Percent Globally

Keep up with the latest developments and legal issues in the telecommunications and emerging technology sectors, with exclusive access to a comprehensive collection of telecommunications law news,...

By Bryce Baschuk

Dec. 1 – More than 95
percent of the world's population now has access to a mobile
broadband signal, according to the International Telecommunication
Union's (ITU) latest connectivity report.

“The growth in mobile-cellular (voice and SMS) and
mobile broadband subscriptions has been particularly rapid, with
the deployment of mobile networks in developing countries and
adoption by users of mobile devices in preference to those
requiring fixed networks,” the report said.

Mobile-cellular subscriptions reached almost 7.1
billion worldwide and mobile cellular prices fell to 14 percent of
gross national income (GNI) per capita, versus 29 percent in 2008,
according to the report.

“These are promising developments which need to be
complemented by efforts to extend mobile-broadband services beyond
the main cities, into rural and remote areas,” wrote Brahima Sanou,
the director of the ITU's telecommunication development
bureau.

Fixed Broadband Sluggish

Greater access to mobile broadband networks slowed
the growth of fixed-broadband subscriptions, which increased to
10.8 percent of the global population in 2015, compared with 10.3
percent in 2014.

The report found that fixed broadband penetration in
developing nations and least developed countries (LDCs) are
significantly lower — 7.1 and 0.5 percent, respectively — than in
developed nations where 29 percent of the population has access to
fixed broadband, according to the report.

The average price for fixed broadband services is 14
percent higher in developing countries than in developed nations,
making it the least affordable option for people in developing
countries, the report said.

Household Internet Access

The ITU projects that 56 percent of the world's
households will have access to the Internet by 2020, which would
exceed the ITU's goal of connecting 55 percent of the world before
the end of the decade.

In 2015, household access to the Internet increased
to 46.4 percent, versus 43.9 percent the year prior, according to
the report.

Least developed countries lag behind other countries
in access and usage of information and communications technologies
(ICT) and “additional measures may be needed to stimulate faster
growth in Internet access” to such areas, the report said.

The report urged those countries that lag behind to
consider regulatory changes, investment programs and new
public-private partnerships to expand access for citizens of least
developed countries.

Korea on Top

The ITU said South Korea leads the world in terms of
ICT development due to its early adoption of ICTs and its support
for advanced mobile broadband and fiber optic cable
connections.

The number of South Koreans with subscriptions to
mobile cellular subscriptions rose significantly over the past year
and nearly all of the country's household have Internet access, ITU
said.

Denmark fell to second place in this year's rankings
due to a lower proportion of households with Internet access and a
decrease in Denmark's fixed telephone subscriptions.

Iceland, the United Kingdom and Sweden rounded out
the top five rankings based on an ICT Development Index (IDI),
which uses 11 indicators of access, use and skill to establish one
benchmark measure. The U.S. fell one slot to 15th place.

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